Construction of pouring spout



Jul s, 1958 C. H. MALPAS CONSTRUCTION OF POURING SPOUT Filed Aug. 2, 1954 2,842,289 coNsruucrroN or POURING SPOUT Charles Henry Malpas, Geelong, Victoria, Australia, assignor to Victorian Diernoulders Proprietary Limited, Geelong, Victoria, Australia, a Victorian company Application August 2, 1954, Serial No. 447,178 Claims priority, application Australia March 1, 1954 2 Qlaims. (Cl. 222-143) ing pouring spouts, if detachable from the container in order to reduce the space above the container occupied by the spout when the container is sealed, are relatively complex in construction and correspondingly expensive to produce. On the other hand, the existing pouring spouts which are not separable from the container project upwardly from the top of the container a relatively large distance, even when the container is sealed and not in use,

to thereby give rise to difiiculties in the packaging and storage of containers equipped with such pouring spouts.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pouring spout for a container wherein the spout will take up very little, if any, space above the container when the latter is packed or stacked in superposed relationship with other similar containers and wherein the spout may be readily used to pour out or dispense the contents of the container.

Another object is to provide a spout of the above character wherein the opening in the container in which the spout is fitted will be eifectively sealed against leakage, and which will be relatively economical to manufacture and may be readily fitted in position.

Still another object is to provide an improved construction for a container having a pouring spout of the above described character.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists, broadly, in the provision of a pouring spout having at one end a head or bulbous portion adapted to be forced through an appropriate opening in the top Wall of the container adjacent one side of the latter and to be operative to hold the spout in position relative to that wall. The spout is fitted so that it may be turned about the central axis of the opening in which it is fitted, and has a generally curved configuration so that a major portion of the spout extends substantially horizontally to extend over and close to the top wall of the container in one rotated position of the spout, and to project laterally beyond the side of the container when rotated 180 from said one position. 7 p I .According to one aspect of the invention, the spout has its outer end closed by the provision of a small integral projection which may be removed, the projection being so formed that, when it is removed, an orifice is provided at the outer or free end of the spout for the passage of fluid therethrough.

According to another aspect of the invention, the top wall of the container has an edge portion around the spout receiving opening shaped so that it is adapted to bite into the bulbous portion when said bulbous portion is forced into the opening, thus providing an effective seal between said bulbous portion and the edge of the opening. A further feature of the invention resides in providing the base of the container with a recess which will accommodate the pouring spout of a similar container disposed therebelow' when the containers are stacked on top of each otherwith the pouring spouts thereof rotated to their inoperative positions extending over the related top walls.

In order that the invention will be clearly understood, I shall now describe an illustrative embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figs. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a container incorporating a pouring spout constructed in accordance with this invention; 7

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through a container embodying this invention, with the upper portion of a similar container on which it is stacked being shown in broken lines;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the pouring spout of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary large scale view showing the outer or free end of the pouring spout of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 shows an alternativeconstruction of the outer end of the pouring spout; and

Fig. 7 is an axial section through a sealing cap. adapted to be fitted to the outer end portion or nozzle of the spout.

As is illustrated in the drawings, the pouring spout embodying this invention includes a nozzle portion 5 which is curved. At one end of the nozzle portion 5 there is a headpiece 6 which is in the form of a substantially circular flange. The nozzle 5 extends outwardly from one surface of said flange and on the opposite surface there is a reduced diameter neck portion 7 and a bulbous portion or head 8. Between the bulbous portion 8 and the headpiece 6, the neck portion 7 defines a circumferential recess 9 which lies in a plane substantially parallel to the outer or free end portion of nozzle 5. As shown in Fig. 4, the bulbous portion or head 8 is made so that it has a short substantially cylindrical portion and a bevelled inner end, the bevelled end ensuring that the bulbous portion may be readily fitted into, and forced through, an opening in a wall of a container.

A passageway 10 extends through the pouring spout from the inner or bevelled end of the bulbous portion 8 to the end of the curved nozzle 5. At the outer end of the curved nozzle, that is, the end remote from the headpiece 6, the passageway 10 is closed and there is provided an integral, outwardly extending projection 11 A which may be readily cut off, or removed, by an outwardly pulling movement. As is shown in Fig. 5 the outer end of the'passageway 10 is preferably conical, so that, when the small projection 11 is cut away, there will be provided a small orifice communicating with the conical end of the passageway. In the alternative construction shown in Fig. 6 the nozzle is made so that the outer end portion is closed by a relatively thin sheet of material and the projection 11 is smaller in diameter than the outer end portion of the passageway 10, so that, when the projection 11 is pulled outwardly, the thin material at the end of the nozzle 5 will break, leaving an opening of suitable size.

The nozzle 5 of the pouring spout is preferably of somewhat tapering configuration, being smaller in crosssectional size at its outer end than at its inner end, and substantially circular in shape in transverse cross-section.

A sealing cap 12 is provided adapted to be fitted to the outer end of the nozzle 5. This sealing cap 12 has a knurled part 13 and a recess 14 extending inwardly- Patented July 8, 1958 from one end. The wall of recess 14 tapers at an angle which is slightly different from the angle of taper of the end of the nozzle 5, so that, when the two parts are fitted together, there will be an effective seal of the outer end of said nozzle. This cap 12 may be fitted to the nozzle 5 before the projection 11 is removed therefrom, but, of course, when so fitted, it does not act as a closure, as the outer end of the nozzle is already closed. However, when projection 11 has been removed and the cap 12 is again fitted in position, the cap operates as a closure to prevent the flow of fluid through the end of the nozzle 5.

Alternatively, or in addition, the cap 12 may be internally screw threaded so that, when screwed onto the nozzle 5, it will tap a corresponding thread thereon, particularly if the nozzle is made of a thermoplastic resin, such as, polyethylene or polyvinylchloride.

As is shown particularly in Fig. 3, the nozzle 5 of the pouring spout is so shaped that the outer portion thereof lies substantially parallel and close to the plane of the top wall 16 of the container to which the spout is attached.

The pouring spout as described above is adapted to be fitted to a container 15 having, in the top wall 16 thereof, an opening of appropriate size disposed adjacent one side of the container. The edge portion of the wall 16 about the opening is pressed inwardly of the container to form an inturned lip 17 (Fig. 3). Thus, when the bulbous portion or head 8 of the spout is forced into the opening, the lip 17 fits tightly into the recess 9 and the edge of the lip 17 bites into the bulbous portion or head.

8 so as to form an effective seal. However, the pouring spout may be readily turned about the central axis of the opening in the wall 16 to any desired angularposi tion relative to the container 15. For packaging purposes, the pouring spout is turned inwardly, as is shown in Fig. 3, so as to extend over the top wall'16 ofthe container where it occupies relatively little space above the top wall, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the spout can be readily turned so that it projects outwardly of the container where the outer or free end of nozzle 5 can easily be engaged in an opening or the like to receive the contents of container 15. During these turning movements, the effective seal of the spout in the opening in the wall 16 is maintained and there is no leakage of fluid past the connection of the spout to the container. The lip 17 may be rolled or bent inwardly, or otherwise formed, to provide a rounded edge, thereby to eliminate any tendency of the edge to cut into, or otherwise damage, portion 8 during rotation of the spout between its operative and stored positions. a

The container itself is formed with a bottom plate 18 which is recessed slightly at 19. Since nozzle 5 of the pouring spout extends upwardly only a short distance above the level of the rim around the top wall 16 of container 15, being curved so that its height is much less than its length, the recess 19 in the bottom 18.-of the container can be relatively shallow and still accommodate 7 the part of the nozzle projecting above the top ofa similar container disposed therebelow (Fig. 3). It is necessary to recess the bottom 18 only about A or A3.

In a slightly modified construction of the container (not shown) the bottom is made concave as a whole to accommodate the stored spout of a similar container therebelow. Also the pouring spout rather than being curved, as shown, may be made with a short upwardly extending arm and a longer arm extending therefrom at right angles, the longer arm lying substantially par- 42 allel to the top 16 of the container when the spout is fitted on the container.

The spout may be conveniently made of a flexible synthetic resinous material, such as, polyethylene, or it may be made of metal with the bulbous portion 8 thereof sheathed with a layer of polyethylene. It is of course desirable to have the bulbous portion of the spout of flexible material so that the edge portion of the opening will bite into that flexible material to provide an effective seal. The spout may be made of any other suitable material such as a thermo-setting plastic or a thermo-plastic plastic material, and it may be made by any suitable method, such as, by injection moulding, if it be made of plastic, or by die-casting, if it be made of metal. if desired, the spout may be made of a flexible plastic, as polyethylene, and the sealing cap may be made of a. dilferent material, such as, a phenol formaldehyde or the equivalent, or of a die cast metal. The container may be made of sheet metal, as is customary.

It will be appreciated that the shape of the nozzle may be varied, as may be the shape or shapes of other parts of the spout, without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention, except as limited by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination; a container having a wall with a circular opening therein adjacent one side, the edge of said wall around said opening being curved toward the interior of the container, and a pouring spout including a curved nozzle portion having a passageway for liquid extending therethrough and a base at one end having a circumferential groove in the external surface thereof, said groove being disposed in a plane extending substantially parallel and closely adjacent to that part of said nozzle portion which extends to the other end of the latter, at least the outer portion of said base being formed of a yieldable material and having a beveled outer edge to be passed through said opening for accommodating said curved edge of the wall around said opening in said groove with said curved edge biting into the yieldable material of said base within the groove to prevent removal of the spout from the container, said spout being rotatable about the axis of said opening between a stored position, wherein said nozzle portion extends across and closely adjacent to said wall, and an operative, pouring position, wherein said nozzle portion projects beyond said one side of the wall.

2. The combination according to claim 1; wherein said container further includes a second wall opposite the first mentioned wall, said second wall having an elongated recess opening in the direction away from said first wall and extending parallel to said nozzle portion in the stored position of the spout so that, when one container is stacked on top of another container with the pouring spouts thereof in said stored positions, the pouring spout of the lower container is accommodated within the recess of the second wall of the upper container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,025,052 Caruso Apr. 30, 1912 1,607,774 Morse Nov. 23, 1926 1,891,826 McGinnis Dec. 20, 1932 2,543,909 Hatheway Mar. 6, 1951 2,687,831 Miller Aug. 31, 1954 

